The [[governor]] is responsible for ensuring that the laws of the state are faithfully executed and is responsible for the safety of the state, as he or she serves as commander-in-chief of the Washington Militia.

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The [[governor]] is responsible for ensuring that the laws of the state are faithfully executed (§ 5) and is responsible for the safety of the state, as he or she serves as commander-in-chief of the Washington Militia (§ 8).

Additionally, the governor has the power to appoint heads of departments, agencies, and institutions. The governor is also responsible for presenting the [[Sunshinereview:Washington state budget|state budget]].

Additionally, the governor has the power to appoint heads of departments, agencies, and institutions. The governor is also responsible for presenting the [[Sunshinereview:Washington state budget|state budget]].

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Other duties and privileges of the office include:

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

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* Requiring written information from any state officer any aspect of her duties and office (§ 5)

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* Addressing each session of the legislature on the state of state and making recommendations (§ 6)

Contents

The Governor of the State of Washington is an elected Constitutional officer, the head of the Executive branch, and the highest state office in Washington. The Governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and and has no term limit.

Authority

The supreme executive power of this state shall be vested in a governor...

Constitutional provisions

The constitutional duties, rights and responsibilities of the Office of the Governor of the State of Washington are primarily laid out in Article III of the Washington State Constitution. Article III has been amended two times since the constitution was approved in 1889. Two of these amendments are relevant to the governor's perogatives:

Requirements

A candidate for governor must be:

a citizen of the United States

a qualified elector of the state of Washington

Election

Washington elects governors in the midterm elections, that is, even years that are not Presidential election years. For Washington, 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018 are all gubernatorial election years. Legally, the gubernatorial inauguration is always set for noon on the second Monday in January following the election. Thus, January 14, 2013 and January 14, 2019 are inaugural days.

In the event of a tie between two candidates, a joint session of the legislature shall cast ballots to choose among the two highest vote getters.

In the event of a contested election, the legislature shall resolve the issue in the manner set out by law.

Vacancies

Whenever the sitting Governor dies, resigns, is removed or impeached, or is unable to discharge the office, the duties shall devolve upon the Lieutenant Governor. After the Lieutenant Governor, the order of succession is as follows:

If a Governor-elect dies, resigns, declines to take the office, or is disqualified, the Lieutenant Governor-elect shall take office as the Governor. If the Governor-elect is only temporarily unable to take the oath, the Lieutenant Governor-elect serves as Acting Governor until the disability is removed. If both the Governor-elect and the Lieutenant Governor-elect are unable to take the oath, same line of succession listed above applies.

If the Governor dies, resigns, is removed or if the Governor's disability is permanent and more than two years remain in the current term, a special election is held at the next general election, unless the next general election is less than 30 days away, in which case the special election is moved to the following general election.

Duties

The governor is responsible for ensuring that the laws of the state are faithfully executed (§ 5) and is responsible for the safety of the state, as he or she serves as commander-in-chief of the Washington Militia (§ 8).

Additionally, the governor has the power to appoint heads of departments, agencies, and institutions. The governor is also responsible for presenting the state budget.

Other duties and privileges of the office include:

Requiring written information from any state officer any aspect of her duties and office (§ 5)

Addressing each session of the legislature on the state of state and making recommendations (§ 6)